May Festival features full lineup

Traditional May Pole Dance set for Saturday afternoon

OROVILLE  This weekend’s 80th annual May Festival will feature a weekend-long lineup of events from royalty coronation to a parade, basketball tournament, bass tournament and the traditional May Pole Dance.

Activities run Friday through Saturday in and around town. The festival theme is “Walk on the Wild Side.”

“When people see small towns on TV and the community events, that’s Oroville,” parade co-chairwoman Shay Shaw said. “People are amazed at our small town and what we have here and the friendly people.”

Events get under way at 7 p.m. Friday with coronation ceremonies for May Queen Kylee Davis and Princess Bethany Roley. Royalty for various school classes also will be honored in the ceremony at Oroville High School, 1008 Ironwood St.

Registration will be followed at 5:40 a.m. with a mandatory drivers meeting.

The tournament starts after the drivers meeting. Weigh-in will be at 3 p.m. Trophies will be awarded for largest fish and first through third places.

An entry fee will be charged.

The 36th annual fun run will start at 8 a.m., with signups starting at 7 a.m. at the corner of Main Street and Appleway Avenue.

Runs of two miles and 5K will be offered, with trophies awarded for overall top male and female winners for each distance.

Medals will go to second and third place overall finishers, with ribbons going to first through third place winners in all age divisions.

The American Legion, 314 14th Ave., will offer a pancake breakfast at 7 a.m.

The Oroville Booster Club will offer a 3-on-3 basketball tournament starting at 8 a.m. on the high school tennis courts.

Parade lineup starts at 8 a.m., with judging at 8:30 a.m. at on the south end of Main Street. Entries can pre-register or sign up that morning.

“We don’t turn anyone away,” Shaw said.

The procession usually draws 80-120 entries.

The parade will be at 10 a.m. on Main Street. Through traffic will be diverted onto Eastside Oroville Road south of town and then back into town via Sawtells and Chesaw roads and Cherry Street.

A variety of divisions will be offered, with trophies and ribbons given. Divisions include various school/youth categories, royalty, community, tractors, cars, commercial, horse, mounted royalty, law enforcement and churches.

Grand marshals are Clayton and Boots (Joyce) Emry.

The May Pole dancing ceremony follows on the high school lawn.

A Chamber of Commerce barbecue will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the south end of the high school lawn. Proceeds go toward the group’s annual scholarship, President Clyde Andrews said.

The Fire Department prepares a pit and watches over the meat all night as it slow cooks, he said.

Oroville Masonic Lodge children’s activities and games will be at noon on Ben Prince Field behind the school, and the Oroville High School faculty will have a meet-and-greet event from 1-2 p.m. at the school.

Although there is no car show this year, owners of vintage vehicles are asked to park them by city hall, 1308 Ironwood St.

The Border Patrol Explorers plan a dunk tank from noon to 2 p.m. at the school. Local celebrities will be on the dunking seat.

Also at 2 p.m. will be an Okanogan International Chorus concert at 2 p.m. at the Free Methodist Church, 1516 Fir St.

Meanwhile, the Old Oroville Depot Museum, 1210 Ironwood St., will offer a display about “Salmon People” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The farmers market will be open from 9 a.m. to noon at 1276 Main St., and area wineries will have tastings.